The Youngest
by RC2012
Summary: It isn't easy being a baby seal on a team of elite, grown-up spies; even if you're a demolition expert prodigy. Yes, this is a Short Fuse fanfic.


**The Youngest-A Penguins of Madagascar Movie Fanfic**

Short Fuse.

Demolition expert prodigy.

That was how he got into working for North Wind.

He had excellent accuracy, could break apart and reassemble many kinds of weapons in a short amount of time, and could memorize all the procedures that came with the job of being a demolition expert.

He worked well with his teammates Classified, Eva, and Corporal.

They worked together like an effective machine and their missions were usually a success.

But while Short Fuse was great in the field with his team, he had trouble fitting in with them when they weren't on missions.

Everyone on his team were adults except for him, so it's easy to imagine how difficult it is for the baby harp seal to interact with them.

* * *

Short Fuse waddled into the control room.

Both Classified and Eva sat in front of the computer filling out reports about completed missions and the threats that were neutralized. Corporal sat at the table eating out of a bag of chips.

Short fuse got onto a chair next to Classified.

"What'ca doing, boss?"

Classified looked at the baby seal for a few seconds and then turned his attention back to the computer.

"Filling out a report on the villain we arrested just yesterday, Dr. Kitty Claws. And his plan to rid all canines off the face of the earth with his device, which was fortunately destroyed when we captured him."

"Oh, cool." Short Fuse said trying to act cool himself, despite the fact that deep down he felt very nervous.

_C'mon, Short Fuse. Say something funny. A joke ought to help you better interact with your team._ The seal thought to himself.

Short Fuse looked at his leader.

"He got hurt a little before he was captured, right?"

"Yes, he was crying out in pain when he was being delivered to the infirmary here."

Short Fuse cracked a smile. "Well you know what cats say when they're in pain, me-OWW!"

The baby harp seal started laughing like a maniac and banging his flippers on the edge of the computer. He looked up at Classified and Eva, but they weren't laughing.

Their facial expressions were blank, as if saying _Really?_

Short Fuse nervously laughed a little and turned so he was facing the computer. He started tapping the edge of the computer nervously, hoping that it would somehow make it seem like he had never made the joke.

Corporal looked at the baby seal for a moment and saw how sad he seemed. He smiled.

"Oh, me-oww! I get it! He's in pain and you say ow when you're in pain! And him being a cat, he says meow! I totally get it! HAHAHA! Good one, Short Fuse." Corporal said laughing and slapping his knee.

"Yeah, funny. Hahaha." Short Fuse said, but still sounding a little sad.

He got off the chair and left the control room.

Corporal looked after him, concerned.

* * *

Each North Wind team was given a suite to live in while residing in headquarters.

Each suite had a control room with a big computer, their own bedrooms, and a living space with a couch, TV, fridge for storing leftovers brought from the headquarters' mess hall, and a small kitchen area where the fridge was located.

Short Fuse was on the far left side of the couch, his head resting on his flippers which were resting on the left arm of the couch.

He looked a little depressed.

He heard the door open and close, prompting him to look behind him.

It was Corporal, who gave a little smile and waved at Short Fuse.

The seal didn't smile or wave back. He just turned around and resumed his position.

"Hey, little buddy. You feeling okay?"

Short Fuse said nothing.

Corporal came over and sat down next to the baby seal.

"What's wrong?"

Silence.

"If there's anything bothering you, you can tell me." Corporal said.

Short Fuse just slouched there on the couch, hoping that if he ignored Corporal long enough; the bear would take a hint and leave him alone.

But he didn't.

He sat next to the seal for fifteen more minutes, which to Short Fuse, felt more like an hour.

The little seal sighed.

There was no use in ignoring Corporal.

If the bear saw that something was bothering one of his team members, he wouldn't leave until they told him what was the matter.

Short Fuse turned around and faced the gigantic (he seemed gigantic to a little guy like Short Fuse) polar bear and spoke.

"I don't fit in with this team."

"Why?" Corporal asked.

"It's because I'm a kid. Do you know how hard it is being a kid on a team of grown-ups? Grown-ups always take things seriously and they're usually working a lot. And they're more sophisticated and have their own sense of humor. You saw how Classified and Eva were when I made that joke. They looked like they'd thought that it was the worst joke they had ever heard in their lives."

"But I found it funny." Corporal said.

Truth was, he only found it a little funny.

Short Fuse turned away and rested his head on the couch's left arm, his flippers dangling down.

"I feel like I don't belong on this team." He sighed. "I don't belong with anyone."

There was silence for a moment before Corporal spoke up.

"What about your family? I'm sure you feel like you fit in with them, yes?"

Short Fuse was silent for a moment. When he spoke up again, his voice sounded really quiet.

"I don't have a family."

"What?" Corporal looked a bit surprised by what he just heard.

"I'm an orphan, I don't have a family. I was rescued by another North Wind team when I was just a few days old. They brought me here and I was raised in the orphanage here. Later it turned out I was a prodigy with demolition and I was accepted as a North Wind agent."

He looked back at Corporal, who was shocked.

Corporal and his cohorts had known Short Fuse ever since he was assigned to their team six months ago, but they had never known he was an orphan.

"But when you were assigned to us, our superiors never mentioned anything about you not having a…"

"I asked them not to tell you guys. I just…don't like talking about it." He said before facing away again.

Another moment of silence passed.

"Is…is there anything I can do for you, Short Fuse?"

Short Fuse closed his eyes and sighed. "No, no thanks, Corporal. If it's okay with you, I'd just rather be alone right now."

Corporal nodded with an understanding kind of look on his face.

"Alright, little buddy."

He got up, patted Short Fuse lightly on the head, and left the little seal alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Corporal walked down the hall, thinking.

Thinking about the day he and his team had met Short Fuse for the first time.

* * *

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I can't wait to meet our new teammate, Classified. What kind of animal is he?"

Classified looked at his clipboard.

"It says that he's a harp seal. And his agent name is Short Fuse."

Just then there was a light knock on the door.

Classified looked up. "That must be him."

Classified went over and opened the door. He looked up and down the hallway but didn't see anyone.

"Hello?"

Classified thought that this better not be a prank of something like that."

"Yoo-hoo, down here."

Classified looked down and saw a baby harp seal smiling and waving up at him. A small bag was beside him.

"Can I help you?" The wolf asked.

"Hi, my name is Short Fuse. Your new teammate."

"W-what?"

Short Fuse entered the room and whistled at what he saw.

"Wow, this place looks sweet."

He stopped and looked at the others.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Corporal." The polar bear happily replied.

"This is Eva and that's our leader, Agent Classified." He said introducing his teammates.

Just then Agent Brutal, a polar bear with a jagged scar going down the right side of his face stood in the doorway.

"Ah, I see you've found your suite and met your team, huh Short Fuse?"

Short Fuse turned to the bear and nodded.

Classified approached the Agent Brutal and brought him out into the hall with him to talk.

"Sir, isn't he a little…young to be in a professional organization such as this?"

Agent Brutal looked down at the wolf.

"He is young, but he's the best demolition expert this organization has seen so far. He's a prodigy at it too. I'm sure he'll be an excellent addition to your team."

Agent Brutal saluted and Classified saluted back before the bear turned and walked away.

Classified turned and saw that Short Fuse was being hugged by Corporal.

"Awwww, so cute!"

Short Fuse was slapping the bear's chest with his flipper.

"C'mon, knock it off!" The seal complained.

Classified reentered his team's suite.

The wolf wasn't so sure about this, but who knows? Maybe the seal would prove to be great.

And Short Fuse did.

* * *

Corporal smiled.

Short Fuse had proven time and time again that he did belong on the team. How could the seal ever think otherwise?

He was a child, but a great agent too.

Corporal thought so. As good as Classified, Eva, and himself.

Corporal stopped in his tracks.

Then he turned and walked back towards the living room.

He peaked in and saw Short Fuse place a video game cd into the game console located beneath the TV.

He came back to the couch and sat down, a wireless controller in his flippers.

"This usually cheers me up when I'm down." The seal said to himself.

The TV was turned on and the title for the game short Fuse put in appeared on the screen.

Short Fuse pressed start and began playing.

And Corporal was amazed.

Short fuse had a determined look on his face, similar to the look he had during missions, as he played expertly well.

The game looked to be a flying one.

Short Fuse was flying a jet through the air heading forward.

A few seconds later Short Fuse was being fired at by other jets fast approaching.

But Short Fuse was ready.

He kept pressing a button on the controller and fired back.

Jets came and were shot down in matter of seconds.

Short Fuse just couldn't seem to be beat.

He shot jet after jet down until he reached a red line.

When he had crossed it, giant words appeared on the screen.

They said: CONGRADUTIONS, PLAYER 1! YOU'VE CLEARED THE 1ST LEVEL!

Short fuse dropped the controller down onto the couch and he started celebrating.

"Oh yeah! That's Short Fuse, sucker!"

The baby seal danced in a celebratory manner.

"And the crowd goes wild!" Then Short Fuse cupped his flippers around his mouth and pretended to be the crowd cheering for him.

Corporal lightly chuckled and then an idea came to him.

A smile was on Corporal's face as he slipped away and headed for the control room where Classified and Eva were.

* * *

"You want us to do what?" Classified asked, his brow furrowed.

"Play a video game with Short Fuse. Let's all play with him." Corporal said.

Classified and Eva looked at each other and then back at their teammate.

Corporal sighed.

"Come on, the little guy just wants to feel like he fits in. Do you know how hard it is for him to interact with us grown-ups? We always help animals in need, and right now; Short Fuse needs our help to feel like part of the team."

Classified and Eva looked at each other again and back at Corporal.

"But we don't even know how to play." Classified pointed out.

"Perfect!" The polar bear enthusiastically cried. "Short Fuse can teach us how and we'll bond closer as a result. I'm sure of it."

Classified and Eva looked at each other before looking back to Corporal. They nodded.

They would give it a try, for their little teammate.

* * *

Short Fuse was still playing when he heard footsteps enter the room.

He put the game on pause and turned back to see his team.

"Oh hey guys. What you want?"

Classified coughed into his clenched paw and stepped forward. "We were wondering…if we could play your game with you?"

Short Fuse looked at the wolf and the others.

"You want to play my video game with me?"

Classified nodded.

"Um, okay." Short Fuse said.

He wasn't being a jerk. He just thought that it seemed a little odd that they wanted to play with him. But he put a smile on his face anyway. When he thought about it, he sure was glad that they wanted to.

"I can even teach you guys how to play."

"Excellent, I'm sure we'll have a smashing time." Classified said with a little smile.

Short Fuse got three more wireless controllers out from the box under the TV and gave one to each of his team members.

They all sat down after Short Fuse restarted the game so the main menu was revealed on the TV screen.

"First, practice mode." Short Fuse said. He then selected the practice mode option.

So they began playing.

And the wolf, owl, and polar bear had a bit of trouble using the controllers to pilot the jets.

"What button allows me to shoot?" Corporal said looking a little baffled.

"How do I steer my jet?" Eva asked.

"I think I just died." Classified said.

Short Fuse couldn't help smiling.

Again, he wasn't being a jerk.

It did seem a little ironic that his team members, who knew a lot about flying jets in real life, were now having trouble with flying jets in a video game.

But Short Fuse told them how to the controls worked and helped give them advice on how to play.

It took nearly an hour, but by then Short Fuse's team were getting the hang of things.

When his team said that they were ready, Short Fuse smiled and pressed the start button so the first level could start.

All four animals worked as a team in co-opt mode as they fired down enemy jet after enemy jet.

"The one in the middle is all mine!" Classified said.

"I'll cover you, boss." Eva said.

"Press the X button!" Short Fuse cried.

Classified nodded and did as the seal instructed.

A purple shock came out of the front of Classified's jet and blasted his target.

It exploded with a big explosion.

"Wow!" Classified said, amazed. "Good call, Short Fuse."

Short Fuse smiled.

"I know."

Corporal smiled too, glad that his plan was working.

* * *

All four animal agents played for an hour and a half. By then they had made it to level 10.

After finishing level 10, they decided to stop the game and call it a night.

"I do have to admit, that was pretty amusing." Classified said with a smile.

"We should definitely play it again sometime." Eva said smiling at Short Fuse.

Short Fuse smiled. "Thanks guys."

Classified and Eva said goodnight before heading off to bed.

Only Corporal and Short Fuse remained on the couch.

Short Fuse looked at Corporal.

"Hey."

Corporal looked down at the baby harp seal.

Short Fuse smiled. "I know that this was your doing."

Corporal smiled back.

"Thanks, playing with you guys was a lot of fun."

Corporal smiled a bigger smile and shrugged.

"What are friends for?"

Then Corporal did something that short Fuse wasn't expecting.

The polar bear picked up the seal and gave him a big bear hug.

Short Fuse was surprised at first, but then he smiled a little and hugged back.

Both animals had their eyes closed.

Short Fuse enjoyed the hug for about ten seconds before opening his eyes and looking serious.

As nice as the hug was, he remembered that he was on a professional team.

Then he gave the polar bear a few slaps on the chest, which didn't feel painful to Corporal at all and said, "All right, all right. Enough."

Corporal chuckled and set the baby harp seal down on the floor.

The two animals then left the living room and got ready for bed.

A half hour passed and Short Fuse was lying in his bed, the covers up to his chin.

He was asleep, with a smile on his face.

**Thanks to Scruff the Rat for his encouragement to me to write this. I hope you all enjoyed, especially those of you who are fans of Short Fuse.**

**The next chapter of School Days should be ready within the next few weeks. Maybe I'll be able to finish it sometime next month assuming my interests don't shift to writing fanfics for another fandom for a while.**

**Someone suggested to me to write an after party fanfic for the PoM movie. Any suggestions for what to possibly include in it?**

**~RC**


End file.
